Monthly Archives: April 2009

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The release of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is only a few days away, so the Wolverine-centric columns continue. This second installment on the character of Wolverine will focus on some of the less-than-shining moments of his career. He may be the best there is at what he does, but he is also pretty good at getting himself into some humiliating situations.

Wolverine in orbit

During the X-Men’s first encounter with the Shi’ar, the group entered the inside of the reality nexus known as the M’Kraan Crystal in an attempt to prevent the destruction of the universe. They are confronted by the guardian of the crystal, a diminutive gent named Jahf. Wolverine, as he was wont to do in his early days as an X-Man, didn’t take Jahf’s threats at all seriously because of his small stature, and was knocked into orbit for his lack of respect. If it hadn’t been for the Starjammers intercepting him as he reached escape velocity, it was likely his healing factor wouldn’t have saved him.

Half the man he used to be

The oft-delayed Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk mini-series opened up with an image so visceral that it was both embarrassing and gruesome at the same time. Wolverine accepts an assignment to track down Bruce Banner, who escaped his execution at the hands of his former bosses at S.H.I.E.L.D. He finds Banner, who has managed to find a way to retain his mental faculties as the Hulk. When Wolverine moves to apprehend the Hulk, the Hulk grabs him, tears him in half and tosses his torso and legs miles away from each other. Wolvie then has to do a soldier’s crawl across miles of forest to reunite with his missing legs.

The mutant with no nose

To be fair, this is technically more of a “What the hell was Marvel thinking?” moment, but the look that Wolverine sported around the time of the Onslaught crossover was so cringe-inducing that I felt it had to be included. Back in the mid 1990′s, Wolverine was dealing with the effects of having all the adamantium torn from his bones (including his claws) by Magneto in the Fatal Attractions storyline. A villain named Genesis (who turned out to be Cable’s son – don’t ask) happened upon the idea of kidnapping Wolverine and giving him his adamantium back in order to use him as a weapon. In the middle of the procedure, Wolverine awakens and starts to struggle, resulting in his body violently expelling the adamantium before it could bond with his bones. This resulted in what appeared to be a slide down the evolutionary ladder for our boy. With a caveman-like body, lung teeth, a messed-up hairdo (for Wolverine, that’s saying something) and a vestigial stump of the nose, his physical appearance was bad enough. When Marvel put him in a costume that would have made Rob Liefeld wince, it made for one of the least auspicious eras for the perennial fan-favorite.

“Percy Dovetonsils”

Leave it to Joss Whedon to bring out the wimp in Wolverine. In Whedon’s third story arc on Astonishing X-Men, Torn, Prof. Xavier’s evil sister Cassandra Nova activates a telepathic virus that enables her to manipulate Emma Frost into attacking her fellow X-Men. She puts them through what each would consider their own private hell, like having Beast regress to a completely feral state. But what she did to Wolverine was diabolical indeed. She reached into his earliest memories and regressed him to his childhood state, where he was a sickly little crybaby of a boy. This results in his making paper dolls and running away from danger like a scared little girl above other things. The effect was short lived, but for a short time his motto was “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do…is ever so pretty!”

Beaten up by a (spider) woman

Early into Brian Michael Bendis’ run on New Avengers, it seemed like he relished placing Wolverine into embarrassing situations. But possibly the most emasculating of them all was his very first appearance in the book. In the aftermath of the jailbreak at the Raft, Captain America takes his team of New Avengers, including Spider-Woman, Luke Cage & Spider-Man, to the Savage Land to recapture Karl Lykos (a.k.a. Sauron). Shortly after they land there the group gets separated. Spider-Woman spots a menacing shadow approaching her from the jungle brush and reacts in kind. When it is all done, her and Cage are witness to a laid-flat Wolverine that has had his claws forcibly lodged into his own throat. Face it, Wolverine, you got served!

It is now your turn…

You guys should know the drill by now. Share your favorite embarrassing Wolverine moments with us and the rest of the class.

In a not so surprising move yesterday, Capcom announced that Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 will be hitting the Playstation 3 Entertainment System and XBOX 360 this summer.

This isn’t a huge surprise because fans have been begging Capcom to port this over to next generation systems for some time now. The game itself is a decade old, and with this release fans can finally put down their Sega Dreamcasts.

New features in this version include: online play, new filtering to improve visuals for HD televisions, and custom music soundtracks.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 has 56 characters from both universes for intense 3 on 3 matches. Get ready to have some dream matches with Mega Man Vs. Wolverine, or Chun li Vs. Cable. This game has hundreds of hours of old-school beat em up action that a fan of either universe can appreciate.

Be sure to download the demo which is hitting online stores this week.

Image from Capcom-Unity check out their site for more info about the game.

“Gallery Nucleus and I am 8-bit are proud to present, with
support from CAPCOM, a Street Fighter tribute group art exhibition. In
celebration of Street FIghter IV and all things Street Fighter, they have
created an exhibition of Street Fighter influenced art that all Street Fighter,
video game, and art fans will enjoy.”

During the kick-off party there was a Street Fighter 4 tournament,
cosplay contest, a house DJ spinning music all night, and of course walls full
of Street Fighter art. The front of the gallery has an area where you can
purchase prints of each piece of art, and also official art books from Capcom or
Udon, who publish an assortment of Street Fighter comic books and manga every
month.

These are just a few of the pieces of fan art that are on
display at Gallery Nucleus.

The art exhibition runs from April 25, 2009 – May 11, 2009 and is free
to attend.

I should say avoid the POSSIBILITY of swine flu. 20th Century Fox decides to skip the Mexico premiere of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” People magazine has more.

Barack is the mightiest there is

Rich Johnston over at Lying in the Gutters has some art from Devil’s Due Publishing’s “Barack the Barbarian.” Click stage right to see a larger image. More info at MTV Splashpage.

Back to Wolverine again

Sci Fi Wire reports on easter eggs in the upcoming X-Men Origins film. Some people may be like “Robert, stop, I don’t wanna know!” But did you think there would be a superhero flick without an easter egg at the end? It’s like de rigeur in all the finer comic flicks now.

Megan Fox is our friend

SuperheroHype.com had some pics of Megan Fox on the set of the upcoming “Jonah Hex” film. I honestly wasn’t sure when this film was happening, but I guess it’s on now. If you want to see more of the images you have to catch them over there.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Audiences were in the mood for some fatal attraction action at the box office. Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba’s “Obsessed” debuted as the top weekend movie with $28.5 million in ticket sales. The Sony Screen Gems thriller stars Knowles and Elba as a couple whose ideal marriage lands on the rocks after a psychotic temp played by Ali Larter begins stalking the husband.

The strong opening for “Obsessed” helped maintain Hollywood’s hot streak, with overall revenues at about $112 million, up 23.5 percent from the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

The busy summer season starts Friday with 20th Century Fox’s spinoff “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” starring Hugh Jackman in the title role he played in three “X-Men” blockbusters.

Studios head into summer on a box-office tear, with receipts running at a record pace. Revenues for the year are at $3.06 billion, up 17.4 percent over last year. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie attendance is up 15.7 percent.

“We have never been in this strong a position heading into the summer season, ever,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

Zac Efron’s “17 Again” and Channing Tatum’s “Fighting” were neck-and-neck for the No. 2 spot. With Sunday estimates of $11.7 million, the Warner Bros. comedy “17 Again” had the edge. After debuting in first-place a week earlier, “17 Again” raised its 10-day total to $40 million.

Rogue Pictures’ “Fighting,” starring Tatum and Terrence Howard in the story of a rising star in New York City’s underground bare-knuckle fight circuit, debuted with $11.4 million.

The two movies were close enough that rankings could change when final numbers come out Monday.

Paramount’s drama “The Soloist” opened at No. 4 with $9.7 million. It stars Jamie Foxx as a schizophrenic music prodigy living on the streets of Los Angeles and Robert Downey Jr. as a reporter who befriends him.

Disney’s nature documentary “Earth” premiered in fifth place with $8.6 million, bringing its total to $14.2 million since opening Wednesday.

“Obsessed” was not screened in advance for critics, and those who reviewed it generally trashed the movie as a lame retread of 1987′s “Fatal Attraction,” which starred Glenn Close as a demented woman pursuing a married man, played by Michael Douglas.

But “Obsessed” had the lure of singer Knowles stepping out from her pop star image and duking it out with the crazy lady threatening her home and marriage.

“There’s something about wanting to see Beyonce kick butt. She’s taking on one wacked chick, played very well by Ali Larter,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. “Let’s face it, everyone loves Beyonce, and to see her in this role is a treat.”

Documentaries rarely open in nationwide release or break into the top 10, but Disney aimed for a wide audience with “Earth,” which traces families of polar bears, elephants and humpback whales over the course of a year.

Disney pledged to plant a tree for every viewer who sees the movie in the first week, with the number climbing to more than 2 million after five days. The film was tied to Earth Day and was the first release of the studio’s Disneynature label.

“We just felt like if we make an event out of this, tied it to this whole plant-a-tree effort, tied it to Earth Day, maybe we could break the mold and come up with the kind of opening that you’d be satisfied with on a regular film,” said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney’s motion-picture group.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

The latest Marvel animated effort from Nicktoons Network “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” is fun in the action moments but a little dry in the re-imagination of the character.

I understand this is Nicktoons and the producers are looking to appeal to its viewership by introducing Tony Stark (Iron Man) as a young genius. Also, get ready for the high school-age James “Rhodey” Rhodes and Pepper Potts.

There’s all ready too much being said about how mildly annoying this teen Tony is and much of what was said is true. Stark is such a great adult character getting this kid version simply takes the fun out of the guy.

But let me clarify — I’m not kicking lil’ Tony around because I think young people don’t make interesting superheroes. It’s because I think interesting people make interesting superheroes and this main character needs a little life breathed into him.

This kid has everything going for him: money, smarts, a mega-sized trust fund. When Rhodey asks if he needs his textbooks and Tony says he’s memorized them already, I wanted to step into the television, punch his lights out and throw him in his locker so he can get an authentic school experience.

If Rhodey had beat Tony down after that I might’ve had more empathy for the guy.

Anyway, there are some good things about this show.

The computer animation does no favors for the movement of the human figures but it’s great for the Iron Man action sequences. When it comes down to it for many fans of Iron Man, it’s mostly about the tech and the action. If you can make that look cool other failings can be forgiven.

At least for the first 26-episode season.

Iron Man: Armored Adventures debuts on Nicktoons Network at 7 p.m. and will run every Friday at 7 p.m.

Terrence Howard isn’t over being dropped from the “Iron Man” sequel yet, and do you blame him?

No one denies that the mega hit film ($582 million worldwide) is a possible killer franchise in the making, and in these types of flicks the stars get a windfall. Well, except Howard, who will not reprise his role as Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark’s best military buddy.

Of course Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Academy Award nominated actor Don Cheadle will step in as Rhodes and Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke join the cast.

More than a few stories on the “Iron Man 2″ casting suggested that Johansson and Rourke were not offered big bucks for their parts in the sequel either. If it is true that Howard would have commanded more money and maybe even part of the box office and Marvel didn’t want to make a deal like that, then it makes sense that he isn’t back.

In this film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, Hugh Jackman
stars as Logan, left, and Liev Schreiber stars as Victor Creed in a
scene from “Wolverine.” (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, James Fisher)

Starting May 1, barely a weekend will pass without another brawny special-effects extravaganza landing in theaters.

Appropriately, summer starts with a couple of prequels.

After co-starring in three “X-Men” adventures about the Marvel Comics mutants, Hugh Jackman steps out from the pack for “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The film spins the back story of Jackman’s metal-clawed loner, a military experiment gone rogue amid a government conspiracy to control his super-freak kinfolk.

Next, the starship Enterprise is relaunched in “Star Trek,” with a new cast taking on the characters originated in the 1960s TV show. Chris Pine inherits William Shatner’s role as dashing James Kirk, while Zachary Quinto plays Vulcan egghead Spock (Leonard Nimoy, who created the role, pops up as the older Spock).

Like “Star Trek” director J.J. Abrams, Pine grew up more a “Star Wars” kid than a “Star Trek” kid. After snagging the role, Pine started watching the original series but stopped halfway through the first season.

“It was kind of nice to familiarize myself with the world, but it didn’t help me much at all to delve any deeper,” Pine said. “If anything, it was a hindrance to kind of watch what Mr. Shatner had done, because he’d done it so well, and he was so specific.

“There were certain mannerisms that I think are definitely Kirk-ian things that I wanted to use in my portrayal, but for the most part, I wanted to free myself up to create something new.”

The director of the final four “Harry Potter” movies, David Yates, is still giving thanks for the young cast he inherited, led by Daniel Radcliffe as boy wizard Harry and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as his school pals.

“There was something very, very, very clever in their choices. Not a day goes by I’m not grateful for this bunch they put together,” Yates said. “It’s a remarkable bunch of kids.”

In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Harry is charged with uncovering a forgotten memory from a new Hogwarts teacher (Jim Broadbent), information the young sorcerer needs for his final showdown against dark wizard Voldemort.

While Yates marvels over how his youthful cast has blossomed, “Transformers” director Michael Bay was thrilled over the improved acting chops of his computer-animated robots for the sequel.

“We were just touching the surface last time in what they’re capable of doing,” Bay said. “This time, they really emote.”

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” reunites puny but plucky human Shia LaBeouf with his giant, shape-shifting Autobot buddies in a rematch against the evil Decepticon robot clan.

Also in a rematch are Tom Hanks and Ron Howard with “Angels & Demons,” their follow-up to “The Da Vinci Code.” This installment hurls Hanks’ symbologist into an ancient feud between the Vatican and a secret brotherhood that has kidnapped the cardinals in line to become the next pope.

Howard felt less pressure this time adapting Dan Brown’s best-seller than he had with “The Da Vinci Code,” a literary phenomenon whose did-Christ-have-kids premise put the movie under a severe microscope by fans and detractors alike.

“Documentaries are being made about ‘Da Vinci Code.’ Theologians develop symposiums around it. Ministers were using it as a way to, frankly, entice people to church,” Howard said, adding that the new film “remains provocative, yes, but it doesn’t hold that same place at the center of the zeitgeist. So it’s really full-on escapism.

Other action highlights:

– “Terminator: Salvation”: Christian Bale leads the last shreds of humanity against machine enemies as the franchise reboots without Arnold Schwarzenegger.

– “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”: The action figures get their own movie as the G.I. Joe guys take on an arms dealer and a militant secret organization.